Fiestas!

September is a month filled with festivities in Honduras. At least that’s what the locals said when we asked them why fireworks were being set off from 4-6am the morning of September 1^st. It was actually a terrifying experience because first off, I seriously thought we were being attacked by someone. Secondly, after discovering it was just fireworks... I didn´t feel much better because safety isn´t a first priority here and the ¨light shows¨ are scary here during the day or night. In reality though, there aren’t that many big celebrations this month, but ours started with Lauren’s birthday on the 2^nd! Granted, that’s not a sanctioned Honduran holiday, but we still managed to have fun on a Tuesday night by breaking out the Guesstures (thanks Sara). On the 10^th, we were able to celebrate our first Dia del Niño, or chidren’s day. Now, I’m sure I’m too old to reap any benefits from this, but this is a holiday that definitely needs to catch on in the US. Thankfully, I live the life of your average 9-year-old here, and was able to celebrate with all my classmates at school that day. First of all, school started 2 hours later than normal, which would have been an amazing chance to sleep-in had someone informed me of that beforehand. When everyone finally showed up, we decorated our classroom and the partying began. All the kids were dressed-up; it seems parents traditionally give their children a new outfit for the day. There was a DJ and complete sound system set up in the playground area because as we’ve found out, music and dancing are a huge part of life here. The dancing is definitely different from what we’re used to… at times, what I would call scandalous I suppose… even though I feel like an old woman saying that. Dancing is also a part of their lives from a really young age, as I’ve encountered countless 4-year-olds with much better dance skills than myself. After the school-wide dance party, we headed back to our classroom where the real fun began. I’ve discovered that piñatas are very underappreciated in the US as well, because they’re an essential part of any good party here. We had 4 just for our class that day, so that meant 4 times the fun and candy. Honduran children take piñata beating very seriously as well, and even after the candy comes out, they tear the piñata apart with their bare hands to make sure there aren’t forgotten pieces inside. After that chaos, we ate some amazing food including chocolate chip ice cream (especially glorious because there isn’t much ice cream here, nor chocolate), Chinese rice (served with a slice of white bread as is customary), and tres leches pastel (3-milk cake). So basically, it should be evident why I’m in favor of making this an official US holiday as well.

Next up, we had Independence Day, which is officially September 15^th for Honduras and 4 other Central American countries. The festivities started the day before with a parade. Now, we’ve learned that things in Honduras move slower than at home, and everything takes longer here… but this parade brought that to a whole new level. We eventually came to the conclusion that this parade was more like a marathon than anything… even though it took longer than most marathons would. On Sunday, all of the elementary schools in town participated in the parade, and on Monday, there was another parade (of equal length) only for the middle school- college aged students in town. Students have been preparing for these parades at least since we arrived in Talanga, if not before, and a huge amount of school funds and time are spent getting ready for it. A large number of children participate in the parade, but in reality, many still do not because most times a costume is involved which is a large expense for families. The choreography is actually pretty impressive, and everyone seemed so into the whole parade. Line-up started around 7am, and the parade started about 2 hours later. We started watching the parade around 9, and by 12 we were ready to give up. I’m really impressed by the endurance of the children, because being in the parade basically involved 4 straight hours of marching in the intense heat. Even if the actual parade wasn’t moving, the kids marched in place. It was a great experience celebrating Independence Day in another culture, and weren´t even that upset there weren´t fireworks that night due to our past unpleasant experiences with them.